Then There Were Three
by TwoLittleBirds
Summary: Riff Raff and Magenta were always so careful with their relationship, and then the worst happened.
1. Fight or Flight

"Riff, I need to tell you something." Magenta began, trying her hardest to keep constant eye contact with her brother. She had never shied of telling him anything, there was never a problem she hadn't informed him about. But this was the scariest, hardest thing Magenta thought she'd ever have to tell her brother. And she had no idea how to start.

They were sat on his bed in the tower room, cross legged and facing each other. Magenta held her hands in her lap, fumbling with her fingers. Riff Raff could see how nervous she was, and reached out to steady her hands. "Magenta." He said, his voice kind but firm, "You can tell me anything, you know that. So please, stop worrying me. What is it?"

"Well, I, its..." Magenta took a deep breath. There was no point stalling this way, the sooner she broke it to him, the better. "I think I'm pregnant." She said. Her words seemed to echo around the room. Riff Raff's face was unfathomable. His fingers grew limp in Magenta's hands, and his pupils were huge.

"Are you..."

"Sure? Yes."

"I have to go."

Riff Raff jumped up, snatching his hands from Magenta's. She watched him, confused, as he left the room. His footsteps clanged down the stairs. Magenta ran over to the window to see if he was leaving the castle. About a minute later, she saw Riff Raff emerge into the front yard, and started towards the gates, breaking into a run. She pushed her hair back, rubbing her face. Why had she told him? It would have been so much easier to book an appointment, and get rid of it without Riff Raff ever knowing.

But the easiest thing to do wasn't always the right thing.

Magenta sighed. She had work to do still, and dinner to cook. Frank's anger wasn't something she needed right now.

Reluctantly, she left the tower and went down to the kitchen. Columbia was there, making what appeared to be a very messy sandwich. She was removing the crusts from her bread when she realised Magenta's presence. "Oh, hey." She said brightly.

Magenta stared at the mess Columbia had made. "I cleaned in here just two hours ago." She said, irritated.

Columbia chewed on her sandwich, making revolting sounds. "Where did Riff go?" She asked.

"I don't know." Magenta muttered, opening the cupboard underneath the sink to find a cloth and a cleaning detergent.

"He looked pretty angry." Columbia informed her.

"Angry?" Magenta repeated, starting to wipe away the splatters of jam.

"Yeah. But kind of... sad, too." Columbia said thoughtfully. Magenta bit her lip, trying not to let Columbia see her face. "Come to think of it, so do you." She said.

"I what?" Magenta said.

"Look sad." Columbia replied, she moved closer to Magenta, "Are you okay?" She said softly.

Magenta paused. "Yes. I'm fine." She said quietly, throwing the cloth into the trash.

"Oh, good." Columbia smiled, none the wiser.

It was one of the rare times that Magenta was glad of how naive Columbia could be.


	2. Assurance

Magenta had had one of the worst days she'd had in a long time. All day, nagging in the back of her mind, were two worries. The first, that of Riff Raff's whereabouts. Where had he got to? Was he alright? Would he even come back? The second, the situation she had found herself in. The baby. Was she going to keep it? What would happen if she did? And then there had been Frank. Apparently, his current experiment was especially hard, and required two people. So he was furious with Riff Raff for leaving him at such a crucial time, and furious with Magenta because he suspected she knew where Riff Raff had gone, and she simply wasn't telling him.

Magenta was glad when she could go, finally, to her bed. She was even more thankful that Columbia only rambled on for five minutes, before falling into a deep sleep. Magenta lit up a cigarette, curled up with a magazine, and tried not to worry. He'd be back soon, she assured herself, he'd never actually leave her.

It was around midnight, just as Magenta was finally starting to get tired, that the bedroom door creaked open. "Magenta." A familiar voice whispered. Magenta shot up, the magazine slithering to the floor, and the ash from her current cigarette dropping onto her lap. She scrambled up, rushing over to the door.

"Riff? Is that you? _Please_ say its you.." She hissed, sneaking out onto the landing.

"Yes, its me." She heard Riff Raff sigh.

"Oh Riff." Magenta sighed back, reaching out into the darkness until she felt her fingers brush against his chest. She stumbled forwards, falling into him, wrapping her arms tightly around his shoulders. "Where have you been? I've been so worried." She whispered into the torn material of his shirt.

"Lets go up to my room, then we can talk." Riff Raff said, taking Magenta's hand and leading her up the stairs.

The tower room was freezing cold, the sheets on the bed like ice. Magenta sat down on them, shivering, and Riff Raff cocooned her in his arms, resting his lips against her forehead.

"I am so sorry, my darling." He said quietly.

"You're here now, everything is fine." Magenta muttered.

"Its not fine, though, is it? I'm so scared, Magenta." Riff Raff said.

"So am I." Magenta admitted, "What are we going to do?" She said, her voice trembling.

"What do _you_ want to do?" Riff Raff asked her.

Magenta looked down, her hands sliding over her stomach, caressing where she imagined a small bump to be in a few months time. From the moment she had been old enough to understand what an abortion was, Magenta's mother had not hesitated in telling her daughter that she had been planning to terminate her. But, unfortunately, she didn't have the money for such an operation. Magenta had always understood that she had been, and always would be, an unwanted child. Could she really consider casting the same fate on her own baby?

"I don't think I could go through with an abortion." Magenta said after a moment.

Riff Raff nodded. He understood completely his sisters reasons for this. He took a deep breath."If you decided to go through with this, I'm quite sure I could fix something up in the lab that would make the pregnancy as safe as possible, for both of you." He said.

Magenta smiled. "Oh Riff. What would I do without you?" She said, reaching up to kiss him.


	3. Suspicions

The week that followed was one of sickness for Magenta. Every morning, at around six, she would dive out of her bed, run down the hall, fling open the bathroom door, and vomit violently into the toilet. Sometimes Riff Raff would appear behind her, a cold flannel and a glass of water in hand, a sympathetic smile on his face. But he didn't always hear these commotions, leaving Magenta to clean up after herself and crawl, groaning, back into bed. If she had doubted that she was pregnant before, she was almost certain that she was now.

"I can take over your work for you, today, if you like." Riff Raff would offer every morning. But Magenta understood that by letting Riff Raff do her work, he'd be neglecting his own, so she'd always just shake her head and tell him she'd be fine.

They both dreaded the day that Frank would suspect something, knowing that their little secret could not be kept for long. But, fortunately for them, Frank was so busy worrying about himself that he barely acknowledged the other people in the castle. Columbia, on the other hand, was becoming suspicious. Magenta would glance at her sometimes, to find Columbia staring, her eyes narrowed, a pensive look on her face. And one morning, after being sick, Magenta turned around to see Columbia standing there in the bathroom doorway. She handed Magenta a wad of tissue, which Magenta accepted with a mumbled thanks, and folded her arms.

"Stomach bug?" She said, her voice almost sarcastic.

"Something like that." Magenta shrugged, flushing the toilet and filling the basin with cool water to wash her face with.

"Every morning, too." Columbia added.

Magenta scowled. "Whatever it is that you want, Columbia, just tell me. Because I'm really not in the mood for games." She snapped.

"Oh, I don't want anything. I'm just concerned." Columbia replied.

"Well, don't be. Go back to bed, and enjoy your sleep whilst I run around looking after everyone else." Magenta said, brushing past Columbia onto the landing.

"I expect there's one more to look after now, isn't there?" Columbia said sharply.

Magenta whipped round. "What did you say?" She hissed.

"You heard." Columbia said.

Before Magenta could press her further, Columbia began making her way back to the bedroom.


	4. Riffnapped

_Two weeks and four days later._

It was a grey and drizzly Monday morning, and the rain hissed against the windows. Magenta stood staring at herself in the mirror. She stood in only her underwear, her hands on her stomach. It felt harder than usual, and there was the slightest of curves there. Magenta bit her lip, knowing that soon her condition would be more visible. She picked up her dress from where it lay on the bottom of her bed, and slipped it on. She had been very careful, these past few weeks, to make sure she was always covered up. Since she shared a bedroom with Columbia, Magenta could no longer lounge around in her underwear like she used to. The only person who saw her otherwise was Riff Raff.

Magenta turned to look at Columbia, who was snoring soundly in her bed. She had been unusually snappy and irritable towards Magenta lately. It wasn't like Columbia, who was usually so happy go lucky and chatty, and it made Magenta worry. What could she have done to upset her friend?

There was a quiet knock on the door, and Magenta curiously opened it. There stood Riff, unshaven and ragged looking. He yawned, obviously not been awake long himself. "Good morning, darling." He said.

"Good morning." Magenta replied. She picked up her apron, glanced at Columbia again, and went out to him, closing the door softly behind her.

"I have a surprise for you, downstairs." Riff Raff announced.

"Really?" Magenta said, her voice suspicious.

"Really. Come." Riff Raff took her hand and began to lead her down the stairs. He had the mischievous smile, that Magenta had seen so many times before, playing on his face. She knew that he had some sort of plan, or had done something brilliant.

Magenta was even more intruiged when Riff Raff passed all of the rooms on the bottom floor, and instead lured her down into the basement. The basement was hardly ever used, in fact it was often forgotten about. It was usually where Frank hid the bodies of the people he had tested his latest experiments on. It was a dark, damp place, filled with chill and fear. There were torches along the walls, which had been recently lit, throwing a pool of light onto the middle of the room.

"Oh my Goddess." Magenta whispered, when she had spotted her surprise.

Precisely in the middle of the golden pool was a chair, on which was tied a very frightened looking middle aged woman. Thick ropes bounded her tight, and a rag had been stuffed into her mouth to serve as a gag. Her eyes were huge with fear, her curly chocolate brown hair tangled in distress. At the last moment, Magenta realised that the woman was also wearing a nurses uniform. Slowly, she turned to face her brother.

"What the hell, Riff?" She cried.

Riff Raff was still smiling, pleased with himself. "Well, it occurred to be that soon you'll need to visit the hospital for tests, and we can't run that risk, what with the baby being the product of incest. So I kidnapped a nurse from the hospital. She can attend to you, whenever we need." He explained.

Magenta covered her eyes with her hands, she shook her head. "No, Riff, you cannot just go around kidnapping people. Take her back. Right now." She ordered.

"I can't, she may go to the police." Riff Raff pointed out.

"Well do away with her then." Magenta hissed.

The nurse let out a muffled scream in protest.

Riff Raff frowned. "I thought you'd be grateful."

Magenta knew disappointment could throw Riff Raff into a sour mood, and she couldn't bear it when he was angry. She knew it was best to just keep him calm. "I am. But I really don't think it would work. What about equipment? She can't do her job without that." She said carefully.

"I thought of that, too. I can always steal things from the hospital, it wouldn't be a problem." Riff Raff shrugged.

Magenta sighed. Of course, Riff Raff always thought his plans through to the last tiny detail. There was no point trying to protest now, she'd just have to accept her "gift". She smiled, and hugged him. "Thank you. What would I do without you?"

"I'll take care of you. _Both_ of you. No matter what it takes." Riff Raff said firmly.

_That's what I'm worried about_, Magenta thought quietly.


	5. Katrina

Riff Raff had firmly told Magenta not to go down to the basement unless it was for a check up. "It'll only arouse suspicion and attention." He had told her. But Magenta couldn't pretend like nothing was going on, when there was a kidnapped nurse sat down there. So, when Riff Raff had gone into town with Frank, she quickly paid a visit.

The torches weren't lit, and they were so old that it took Magenta a while to light them all with her cigarette lighter. The basement seemed chillier than usual, and she shivered as she made her way down the damp steps. The nurse was still gagged and bound to the chair, her eyes drooping as if she were sleepy. Then she saw Magenta, and her eyes widened quickly. Magenta smiled a little.

"Hello, I am Magenta." She said. The nurse simply stared. Magenta walked over to the chair, looking down so the two were at eye level. "I'm going to remove this gag, but if you dare scream or make any loud noise at all, I'll kill you myself, right now." She said, her voice low. The villainous traits were something she had picked up over the years from Riff Raff, and even though Magenta didn't always like using them, they came in useful. The nurse slowly nodded. Slowly, Magenta pulled the gag out from her mouth.

"Please, just let me go." The nurse gasped straight away.

"I'm afraid I can't do that." Magenta replied.

"But I haven't done anything." The nurse insisted, her eyes suddenly filling up with tears.

"I know, but I need you. I'm pregnant, you see." Magenta explained.

"Then go to the hospital." The nurse suggested simply.

Magenta took in a deep, impatient breath. "I can't. And no, I won't explain why." She said, "Now, have you eaten?" She inquired.

"The thin man brought me two slices of toast this morning, and a glass of water." The nurse said.

"My brother." Magenta said fondly, "Fine, I'll go and get you something to eat and drink. If I leave this gag off, you have to promise me you won't scream." Magenta said, narrowing her eyes.

"I promise." She said meekly.

Magenta turned and made for the stairs. Then she paused, and turned. "Whats you name, anyway?" She asked.

"Katrina."

Magenta nodded, smiled again, and left.


	6. She's Your Friend

"I'm going to make myself a cup of tea, would you like some?" Magenta asked.

"No." Columbia replied.

"Is there anything else I can get you?" Magenta persisted.

"No." Columbia said, just as quick and sharp as the first time.

Magenta glared, "What is the matter with you?" She demanded to know, suddeny angry. She had been putting up with Columbia's bitter, childish attitude for weeks now, and she would no longer take it.

"I'll tell you whats wrong, shall I?" Columbia said, stepping up to Magenta, "How would you feel if you knew that your friend had a secret, and she didn't even tell you about it?" She snapped.

Magenta was startled. How had Columbia known she was hiding something? "What are you talking about?" She said, trying to remain unfathomless.

"I'm not an idiot, Magenta, no matter how much you may take me for one." Columbia said.

Magenta sighed, and sat down on her bed. "Its difficult."

Columbia closed the bedroom door, and sat down beside her friend. "You can tell me anything, Mags. You know I won't say a word if you don't want me to."

"You have to swear, Columbia. On your life. This can't get out." Magenta warned her.

"I swear." Columbia nodded, crossing her chest with her finger.

"I'm pregnant." Magenta announced. It was like telling Riff Raff all over again. She had the same nervous, queasy feeling in her stomach.

Slowly, Columbia began to grin. "I _knew _it!" She cried.

"You _knew_?"

"Yes! Like I said, I'm not an idiot." Columbia launched into a great huge, suffocating Magenta. She was still grinning. "Oh this is fantastic! It'll be like our own little doll, and we can dress it up, and take it out for walks, and teach it to dance..." Columbia was off into her own little baby ramble.

Magenta remained quiet. "I think you're forgetting this is Riff's baby." She said.

"Oh." Columbia said, coming down with a fast pause, "Shit."

"Thats why nobody can know. _Espeacially _Frank." Magenta siad sternly.

"You can trust me." Columbia smiled.

Magenta nodded, and sighed as Columbia hugged her again. She wished she could be just as as excited. After all, it _was _good news, except for one tiny detail. She also wished that she wasn't regretting having told Columbia. _She's your friend, of course you can trust her_, Magenta assured herself. But she knew how Columbia could just burst out with the most random news. How she could walk around for days with a huge stupid smile on her face, her eyes shiny because she knew something that others didn't.

_She's your friend, of course you can trust her._


End file.
